Souichirou's Story
by Nong Va Sho Da Wu Zi Sa Ning
Summary: This is my theory on the cause of Souichirou's death. Rated T to be on the safe side. Please read and review. It'd be much appreciated if you tell me about any flaws you find. :D Also, each line separates each chapter. No patience to upload individually.
1. Chapter 1

**Souichirou's Story**

Ok, this is my theory on the cause of Souichirou's death. When I've finished the fic, I'll upload a final chapter, showing my train of thought, on how I got to here. I started this fic after reading Chapter 16. When more manga chapters are released, I try to edit the remaining parts, to make them seem more ahh.. accurate. Heh, ok. Enough of my rambling. Here it goes.

* * *

"Rikopiiinn..."

"Hm?"

"I wuv you."

"Mmhm. Love you too Sou-Sou."

"Get a room you 2!"

"Aww... Is little Kuro embarrassed?"

"Tasuku, even one as senile as I can tell that at this rate, unless you 'man up', you are never going to get a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend, if you feel that way."

This was one of the many scenes that often greeted the team's colleagues as they headed towards their own work areas.

"Shut up, will ya, you faggots."

That wasn't.

A stunned silence was the reply.

"Crap, sorry. That came out bad." Ever since he'd quit cracking, Kurosaki had felt freed. However, when he was cleaning out some old stuff he'd found a loose thread in his work which, if dealt with correctly, could expose his underworld identity.

Now, he was constantly restless. Every new email, every phone call that came in, every summons for anyone in his team left him unsettled. At the rate he was going, he was gonna have a nervous breakdown, if not a heart attack. If lucky, he'd only end up going bald.

Souichirou grinned. "Don't worry Kurosaki. _Woof!_ (Kurosaki cringed.) Everyone gets stressed at times. _Woof!_ If you want, go take a break." He winked (much to the horror of Rika). "We'll cover for ya."

Kurosaki forced a smile in reply. "Hahah...yeah. Ok. Uhh...then I'll... go....Bye..."

Slamming his bedroom door, he sprawled on the bed, silently swearing at himself. Geez, what was wrong with him today?? _Well apart from the fact that I may lose my job and even jeopardise the other's opportunities, everything's just peachy!_ Of course. A flashing tab brought him over to his computer.

"_You have (1) new email from Kazuo Aitarou. Subject: 'Breach of Security Message: 'Tasuku Kurosaki/DAISY, we have been informed of a breach of security as of the 17__th__..."_

_Crap...Well there you go. Gahh... This is not good..._

* * *

Kurosaki was lost. The morals and ethics he'd been taught said that he'd stuffed up, that the right thing to do was to tell his team. If he was lucky, they'd be willing to listen to his reasons, would try to help him resolve the issue and life would go back to normal, albeit with Kurosaki a lot wiser.

_What if it doesn't go that well?_

If things went badly...Kurosaki cringed at the thought of the consequences. Not only he would get punished, but the rest of his team may be as well.

_What if it gets put on our criminal record?_

A series of knocks on the door woke him up from his reverie. It was the Master.

"Sou and Rika have gone out for lunch."

"Ahh..."

Enough was said. Souichirou and Rika were gonna have lunch, watch a movie and would probably spend the rest of the evening talking lovey-dovey at a park.

"Have a seat. I just finished up on the installing thread. Waiting for the whole thing to save. So freakin slow... Hey, you want a drink?"

"Yeah, thanks. Have any Coke?"

"Heheh, yeah. Bought 2 cases of them. $20 discount. Huuuge bargain."

The Master laughed. "You cheapskate..."

"Cheap Asians ftw!" was the distance reply.

Chuckling, the Master settled down in the chair. A flashing tab on the computer screen caught his attention.

"_You have (1) new email from Kazuo Aitarou. Subject: 'Breach of Security Message: 'Tasuku Kurosaki/DAISY, if you do not compensate us within the..."_

_DAISY...?_ Wasn't that the name of the cracker who'd lately been going berserk around the net? Security measures had increased 10 times over, because of him...

"Tasuku!" he called.

"Yeah?"

"What's this?"

* * *

"ARE YOU STUPID OR SOMETHING?? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH DANGER YOU'VE PUT US IN?? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH DANGER YOU'VE PUT _YOURSELF_ IN??"

"..."

"IF YOU'RE LUCKY, THE COMPANY WILL FIRE YOU. IF NOT, YOU WILL BE SUED _AND _FIRED _AND _GET A CRIMINAL RECORD AND _WE_ WILL ALSO GET FIRED _AS WELL AS _BEING SUED AND GETTING A CRIMINAL RECORD."

"Shut up."

"YOU PUT US IN THIS MESS AND YOU'RE TELLING ME-"

"TO SHUT UP!! Look, I know I screwed up. Ok. I'm sorry. I'll-"

"BEING SORRY ISN'T GOING TO SOLVE THE GODDAMN PROBLEM."

"LISTENING TO OTHER PEOPLE WILL."

With that, Kurosaki stormed out of the room.

"Sou, he had a point. You didn't really give him a chance to explain things."

"What, you want me to go and apologise? Pfffft! As if..."

The Master cleared his throat.

"Er... That IS the general idea Sou..."

Souichirou stared at him in disbelief.

"No. Not until there's ice in Hell 3 feet thick."

With that, Souichirou also stormed out of the room.

Rika and the Master stared at the door.

"Well. That went well..."

"Mmhm. I'll go look for Kurosaki."

"Er, Rika, maybe I should do that. Seeing as how you're you know... with Sou and all, it wouldn't be too good if you... you know... went after Tasuku... Maybe I should go..."

"And I go after Sou? Yeah, ok, I've got it."

And thus, Rika and the Master also left the room, albeit more calmly than the other half of their team.

* * *

The Master walked into Souichirou's apartment and into his room. As he thought, Souichirou was perched on his desk, hunched over his laptop. He and Rika been warned many times that doing so was a bad posture and that when he became an old man and she became an old hag (Rika had screeched at this), they'd continue to walk around, with that same posture.

The Master sighed. The lecture could come later.

"Sou."

"Hm?"

"Kurosaki's gone missing."

"Ok."

"So that's the attitude you're going to give?"

"Uh huh."

"Even if the boy makes one mistake, you won't give a crap if he disappears?

"Nuh uh."

"You bring him in, he's your responsibility."

"Sure."

Realising he was getting nowhere with this, the Master strode out.

The slammed door woke Souichirou up. _Ahh...What was it the Master had said again...Right... Kurosaki's gone missing... Eh, whatever. Back to work..._

-blink-

_Hang on... Ah, crap..._

"MASTEEERRRRR!!! WAIT UUUP!!"

* * *

"No sign?"

"Still no."

"Whatsoever?"

"Nope."

Rika, Souichirou and the Master had spent the whole night searching the whole city, both manually and electronically. It was now morning and the 3 had met up in the office.

"Aiyaaa... For all we know, the company he hacked into may have taken action themselves...if you know what I mean..."

"You're serious? Argh, Good job, Sou."

"Stop it Rika! I get it. It's all my fault. I'll apologise to the guy when we find him. After I teach him a lesson or two..."

"_Sou!_"

"Ok ok! We'll skip the lessons."

Rika's retort was cut off by Souichirou's phone ringing.

"Rika, get ready to trace the call, in case it's Kurosaki."

Placing the phone on loudspeaker, Souichirou answered it.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Kurebayashi Souichirou."

"Who's this?" In his heart, Souichirou already knew. He motioned for Rika to start tracing . She did so.

"Your Kurosaki tried to hack into our system. We have him with us now. He's still alive...although his health may be in want of medical attention..."

"... YOU BA-"

"Really now Sou, do stop trying to trace us. Co-operate instead. It would be a pity if..._the police _managed to find and _arrest him_..."

"What is that you want? Money? I'll need to finish writing the programs and sell-"

"I think you know what we want."

"..."

"Sou, their firewall's too good. Every query I run just gets rerouted." _Rika._

"C'mon Sou, you're supposed to be a smartass. Use that head of yours."

"No..."

"And...the penny drops."

"Not the programs. I've spent years on them! My _team _has spent years on some of them! You can't-"

Suddenly, Rika cried out. A window opened on the computer. Souichirou's face paled and he heard the muffled gasps from the Master. It was an image, showing Kurosaki lying on the ground.

His hair lay dank. His skin was an unhealthy shade of grey. Souichirou had once seen the single scar that curved over Kurosaki's shoulder and down his back to the side of his waist. Its numerous new companions were clearly visible all over his back and along his arms. What shocked Souichirou most of all however, was the cigarette hanging from his lips.

His captors had managed to get him hooked? Souichirou knew from experience that once you were addicted to alcohol, drugs or cigarettes, it would take a Herculean effort to quit permanently.

"Your _team_ will be permanently lacking one member within a week if you don't finish the programs and hand them over."

"..." _He could already see that Kurosaki wasn't going to last a week. They all could see that._

"I'll be lenient. Discuss your decision with the _remainder of your team_. Give me your answer in 2 days time."

With that, the computer screen went blank and the phone went dead.

"Sou...You're the leader. What are we gonna do?"

Again. He was the leader. Everything was decided by him. What codes were used ...Whether the ASCII or the WYSIWYG formats used...What Teru's dinner was gonna be...How the security measures would be set up... And now, Kurosaki's fate.

"Sou...?" The Master, again.

"For now...we'll work on the programs. Until we find a better idea."

"Yessir."

As if understanding that he needed alone time, the other 2 walked out, leaving Souichirou to his thoughts.

* * *

Ok. That's all I've come up with so far. Does it work? Any flaws being pointed out would REALLY be appreciated!! :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Dengeki Daisy**

Forgot to say last time: I DO NOT OWN DENGEKI DAISY. If I did, Kurosaki would've gone bald ages ago.

A huge thanks goes Cuttie-shika for pointing out that it's 'Riko', not 'Rika'. xD

* * *

Souichirou was in a dilemma. The decision had to be made by tomorrow. Which one was he to give up? The programs? He hadn't been exaggerating when he said that the team had spent years on some of them. Souichirou and his team had watched these programs grow under their fingers, like the blue daisies he and Teru treasured so much. Each program had its own little story. There was the one dubbed "The Black Hole" where it could shrink a file's size and CPU usage 100 fold so that even the most impatient computer users (like Kurosaki) would have trouble making the computer lag. Ironically, it had taken up the most memory when being written.

There was another known as "The Minefield". When the separate components were being written, the team had been forced to literally back up their work every 2 minutes and had to coax the script along like a cranky old woman due to the many threads that had to be written up at the same time. If they weren't careful, the computer would freeze up and they would be back to the last point where they saved. However, once the components were being patched together, all the redundant info was deleted and the buslines were freed up considerably. The team had cheered when that much awaited day came. There were also numerous others that had been commissioned by the company.

Or...should he give up Kurosaki, his mentee? He was responsible for this whole damned mess. If it wasn't for the stupid kid, in a few months time Souichirou would be a hundred fold richer, he'd be married to Riko and Teru would be financially secure for life. Kurosaki had no friends, not relatives. No one would miss him... Souichirou mentally slapped himself. Was the life of a person really worth a few programs? These programs were basically a series of numbers, strung together in a sequence...

...a very long sequence...

...that would take a long time to rewrite...

"Onii-chan!"

His thoughts were broken off when Teru came running in, holding a glass container.

"Hn?" Probably another butterfly...Lately the girl had gotten bored of daisies and had become fascinated with butterflies instead. Eurgh...

"_Onii-chan!!_" The call came out more urgently.

All of a sudden, Teru's face came into Souichirou's line of sight. She had that puppy dog look in her eyes. So cute... No. This time he was staying firm. He wouldn't pay attention to her. He had to focus on the situation. She had to learn to be patient, learn to be self-disciplined.

"What is it?"

That could be done later.

"Teru found a centipede!" Again, that wildly out of proportion grin of hers.

"Mmhm. That's nice." Already sick of butterflies? That was quick... Ah well. Hang on. She said "centipede"...

"TERU, DROP THAT JAR!!"

_Safe... -phew- _

_Wait._

"NO, TERU, DON'T DROP TH-"

*crash*

"... Never mind..."

After many "Onii-chan, it's on your left!"s, even more "Onii-chan, it's on your other left!"s and even an "Onii-chan, it's in your hair!" (which was quickly followed by a horror movie worthy scream), Souichirou finally managed to kill the wily insect. Well, half of it. The other half continued to twitch around for a good 5 minutes, holding a captive audience whilst doing so before finally lying still.

"Teru, go finish your homework."

"Yessir."

With that, Souichirou was again, left alone to his thoughts. And a dead centipede.

* * *

_The sandal smashed down onto half of the centipede. The other half continued to twitch for a while before it too succumbed to death._

Souichirou also twitched, falling out of his bed as a result. Swearing and glaring at the drawers next to his bed (it was all their fault his head hurt like crap), he walked to the bathroom to wash his face and to get rid of that image of the (literally) half dead centipede.

_So disturbing..._

Images of the centipede flashed through Souichirou's mind, of it crawling around and eventually, dead, be it from the pain and shock, or because one of its vital organs had been crushed and couldn't support its system any more...

All of a sudden, Souichirou had another one of his magnificent brainwaves. What if he was to only give them parts of the program? Enough to support itself for a little while, so that it wouldn't immediately collapse on itself and make the blackmailers suspect something but not enough to do anything significant.

_And when the blackmailers found out?_

They wouldn't. Yes, Riko had been unable to locate the blackmailers, but she had been trying to hack in from the outside. Souichirou could place a tracer _inside_ his programs, so that as soon as the programs were opened, they would automatically activate the tracer and the police would know where the blackmailers were and arrest them. Once the police had information on the blackmailers, they would be able to quickly arrest many others, some who would have potentially tried to exact revenge on Souichirou.

The idea worked. Editing the program and writing the tracer itself was easy. The centipede forgotten, Souichirou rang up the Master and then Riko, to forward this new plan.

* * *

"Good morning Kurebayashi Souichirou. I trust you and your team have come to a decision?"

Closing his eyes, Souichirou took a moment to gather his nerves before answering.

"Yes, we have. We'll give the programs."

With a "I see. Well thank you." all pleasantries ended.

"At 7pm on Saturday, you will go alone to the warehouse at Byron Bay and you will bring the programs with you. You'll see a young man in a pinstripe suit there. His name is Takeda-san. He will be the one to take you to Tasuku. That is all."

_Click_.

Breathing out, Souichirou turned to his team.

"Let's go."

* * *

I realise this is alot shorter than the last uh.. entry? Stuck on a writer's block. If anyone can give me pointers on how it feels like to be shot...yeahh, that be really appreciated. :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Dengeki Daisy**

Last chapter. Again, I don't own Dengeki Daisy. If I did, Kurosaki would've gone bald AGES ago. :) Ladies and gentlemen, and those in between, here you go.

* * *

Cresting the hill, Souichirou quickly scanned the area. The warehouse was easy to spot. It was the only one there.

"Hello, Master? Rika?

"Yeah we hear you."

"I see it. Going in now. Bye."

"Ok, good luck! And bye."

Tucking the cell phone back into the pocket of his jeans, Souichirou drove down the hill. To Kurosaki.

* * *

Parking right outside the warehouse, Souichirou hurried inside. Inside, stood a lone figure. Takeda. _Well, someone's been watching too much TV..._

"Ah, Souichirou-san! I'm Takeda-san. I see you actually came alone. Well I won't waste time on small talk. Please hand over the programs."

"First release Kurosaki. It's a lot easier to run with a number of CDs than with a half dead person."

"That reminds me... It's a lot easier to kill a half dead person than a number of CDs, wouldn't you agree, Souichirou-san?"

"..."

"Nonetheless, your request is indeed understandable. Release him."

For a moment, no one talked. There was only complete silence. Then, Souichirou became aware of a hacking (pun unintended) sound. A lanky figure slowly emerged from the shadows. _That's Kurosaki?_ _Holy crap..._ He had thought that the image sent over had been edited; photoshopped. This...walking stick figure disproved that theory.

"What the hell have you done to him??"

"Oh, not much. Just substituted food for cigarettes. The norm, you know."

"You...."

_-click-_

A rifle now pointed at Kurosaki's head.

"Now now, don't be too hasty. We don't want any accidents, do we?"

"..."

"Takeda-sama, it works."

"Is that so? Well, then. Souichirou-san, you and Kurosaki-san are free to go."

"In that case, good evening Takeda-san." With a customary bow to Takeda, Souichirou dragged his teammate to his feet, saying "C'mon Kurosaki, we're outta here."

* * *

Souichirou had just hauled Kurosaki into the back of the car when the sound of a bullet tore through the air, followed by many others. _Crap...that can't be too good._ The look on Kurosaki's face confirmed it. _Well! That was quick...Time to go._

A bullet rammed into Souichirou's shoulder. _Ah...that's gonna hurt..._

Sure enough, a fire soon started to spread through his shoulder. _And we're going down..._

The floor rushed up to meet him. _Body slam huh? On concrete? Oh man, I'm gonna have bruises the size of mangoes after this._

And, as in all clichéd movies and stories, everything went black.

* * *

"Sou..." Female's voice. Angelic. Riko.

"Onii-chan!!" Young female's voice. Innocent. Teru.

"Nnng..." Male's voice. Drunk. Slurred. His. Of course.

Bright light glared at Souichirou as he slowly opened his eyes. To his left, sat Riko and Teru. Upon seeing him open his eyes, Teru left to fetch the doctor and, perhaps, because she understood that Riko-chan and Onii-chan needed 'adult time' to do 'adult stuff' (whatever that was).

"Lemme guess... I'm in the hospital."

"Uh huh."

"How long?"

"A week."

"Wow, new record huh..."

"Mmhm."

"... Kurosaki...?"

"I'm sorry Sou..."

"What... So that's how it's gonna be, huh..." Kurosaki's dead... _Man, that sucks_.

"...but you're going to have to put up with him for a few more years..." _Or not..._

"Where is he?"

"Still in hospital, in another room. He's already on the mend although they had to sedate him when he found out you'd been shot."

Chuckling, he pulled Rika down for a kiss...

* * *

"Souichirou-san?"

Teru had returned with the doctor.

"Please excuse me, but there's something I need to talk to you about. Something...serious..."

Catching her drift, Souichirou turned to Teru.

"Teru, wait outside ok? We're going to have a little talk with the doctor. Won't take too long."

"Ok!" She skipped outside, closing the door behind her with a soft _click_.

"Sou...Do you want me to stay? Or shou-"

"Stay, of course Rikopin!" Another kiss.

An awkward cough brought them back to the hospital. The doctor was looking away, clearly embarrassed at witnessing an intimate moment between the two.

"Heheh... Ah, sorry Doctor-san. Please continue."

She drew in a long breath and turned back to Souichirou and Riko.

"Souichirou-san... In regards to your condition, I'm very sorry to tell you that..."

* * *

Yeahh, for those who didn't get that last part, this is when the doctor tells Souichirou that... he's not gonna make it.

I'll put up another chapter, showing my train of thought. Any questions you have, I'll answer as well. And probably any comments. Thanks for reading!! and please review!! :D


End file.
